This invention relates to roofing tiles, typically the clay mission tile widely used for many years in the southwestern section of the United States. Initially a rectangular sheet of clay was formed over the thigh of the workman to produce a tile having the general shape of a frustoconical segment of a conical surface. The tiles were laid on a roof in an over-and-under pattern, with the over tile normally having a smaller radius of curvature than the under tile. More recently, tiles have been made by machinery resulting in tiles of substantially uniform thickness and a more regular frustoconical shape, with the same tile being used both over and under. These tiles are sometimes referred to as tapered mission tiles.
Tiles of this type are widely used today on flat roof surfaces. However, many buildings are constructed with turrets either decorative or functional, and the conventional tapered tile cannot be utilized directly, but rather has to be trimmed by hand to a different shape. The hand cutting and fitting of the tiles for a roof of a turret is an expensive and time consuming operation and can result in rather unattractive finished roofs unless the hand cutting and fitting is carefully accomplished.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for making ceramic tiles for roofs of turrets. A further object is to provide a new and improved turret roofing tile and a turret roofed with tiles. Other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description.